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Matt Ryan

In recent years, Matt Ryan cards have gained a lot attention. The Falcons have gone through some ups and downs but Ryan's hobby prospects are still fairly strong should Atlanta find their footing once again.

The third pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, Ryan entered the league with high expectations. He certainly got things off to a bang, connecting for a 62-yeard touchdown on his first-ever pass. He was just the second rookie ever to pass for more than 3,000 yards, joining Peyton Manning. Cam Newton is now part of the club as well. Ryan and fellow 2008 rookie, Joe Flacco, were also the first rookie quarterbacks to start all 16 games and take their teams to the playoffs.

Collectors have 40 different Matt Ryan rookie cards to choose from. They cover a wide range of prices, starting at a couple of dollars and going all the way up to several hundred. Considering his early success and the fact that Atlanta seems poised to make a serious run at the Super Bowl, things look good for Matt Ryan cards. Barring a serious injury or a major drop off in production (which seems unlikely), the only direction his cards are going to go is up.

Although he's one of the NFL's better quarterbacks, Matt Ryan cards are in the second tier. It's going to take a Super Bowl Championship to lift him to a higher spot in the hobby.

Top Matt Ryan Rookie Cards

Serial numbered to just 99 total copies, the horizontal layout of this card provides ample design space to incorporate the beautiful 3-color patch, player photo and on card autograph. This is a solid choice for the cornerstone of a Matt Ryan player collection.

Also numbered to 99, the National Treasures RC uses a vertical layout to configure the same design elements as the Exquisite version; player photo, 3-color patch and on-card signature. Preference comes down to personal taste, but both are equally worthy investments.

Often much more affordable than the previous mentioned cards, the Ultimate rookie card still provides tremendous content. The card is serial numbered to 99 copies, features an over-sized jersey swatch, albeit single color and an on-card autograph. Parallel versions are available with those featuring multi-color jersey swatches.

Matt Ryan Autographed Memorabilia Buying Guide

Below you will find an example of what Matt Ryan's authentic signature looks like. This can be used as a first point of reference for determining the legitimacy of autograph memorabilia, but is not a substitute for having your items authenticated by a well-respected professional autograph authentication company. Some of the trusted sources within the sports memorabilia market include the following companies: PSA, JSA, Steiner, Tristar and Mounted Memories. Click on any of the images below to view full size photos.

Matt Ryan Cut Signature Exemplar

Matt Ryan Key Signature Attributes: An authentic Matt Ryan signature autograph will exhibit several distinguishing characteristics. Regardless of the type of item or when it was signed, look for the following signature features:

Signature is usually written on an even horizontal plane with a lean to the right.

The letter "M" is unique in that it consists of an up and down pen stroke and then a deep and wide "u" like motion before beginning another up and down stroke.

The pen lifts and an open looped "a" is visible and then a small upstroke which implies the letters "t-t."

The pen lifts again for the start of the letter "R" with an open back that makes it look more like an un-dotted and exaggerated "?"

A small intersecting scribble on the bottom of the "R" and a dash imply the remaining letters.

Ryan Cracknell | E-Mail Author | Ryan is a former member of The Cardboard Connection Writing Staff.
His collecting origins began with winter bike rides to the corner store, tossing a couple of quarters onto the counter and peddling home with a couple packs of O-Pee-Chee hockey in his pocket. Today, he continues to build sets, go after inserts with cool technologies, chase Montreal Expos and finish off his John Jaha master collection.